It’s Monday morning and the thought of work fills you with dread. You’re late for a start, then you discover your train is delayed or traffic is horrendous. And you just know your boss will pick you up on it even though it’s not your fault.
Time to plaster your thoughts all over Twitter to get it off your chest, right? We are all guilty for doing it, however- how do we know our colleagues or boss can’t actually see that Tweet or Facebook status?
For one Texan teen, it all went entirely wrong. Ranting and raving on social media is fairly normal to say the least, but one Twitter user got fired for it. In fact, she was fired before she even started her new job at a pizza restaurant.
In what could be deemed as a ‘hilarious’ tweet exchange, on February 6th @Cellla wrote ‘Ew I start this f*** a** job tomorrow.’
The owner of the pizza restaurant, Robert Waple, was alerted of the tweet by another employee. The next morning, Waple tweeted her back and promptly fired her live on Twitter: ‘And….no you don’t start that FA job today! I just fired you! Good luck with your no money, no job life!’
Think before you act
Although @Cellla_ doesn’t seem to be too cut up about her getting fired via Twitter. Infact she tweeted “I got fired over Twitter’’. She has seems to have shrugged off the whole scenario and is enjoying her fame.
I got fired over Twitter
— Cella☀️ (@Cellla_) February 7, 2015
In November 2013 a Michigan woman was fired from her job and subjected to vicious cyber-bullying after causing an uproar online by posting a photo of herself at an office Halloween party dressed as a Boston Marathon bombing victim.
Alicia Ann Lynch, 22, sparked an outrage by donning the insensitive costume consisting of athletic gear and fake blood smeared on her face and legs. Shortly after she posted the tweet, Lynch received global death threats towards herself and her family.
Lynch deleted all her social media accounts, but reopened Twitter to publically apologise to everyone she hurt and for them not to blame her family. Although her Twitter account has apparently now been suspended.
I am not saying you should restrict what you say on social media, it’s your opinion after all. But perhaps it’s better to have a professional Twitter profile alongside your personal one. When applying for job roles, large corporations know nothing about you. The only way they will gather information about you is through your social media profiles.
I have a few slightly embarrassing pictures on my Facebook page that I wouldn’t be proud to show my mum, let alone a future employer.
If you’re going to write something negatively about work that can’t be laughed off, really think about who’s going to see it. There’s a time and a place.
